Lol, yeah, back at grunting weight. Inzer belt, y u no here yet?

@krok

the weights looked more than manageable :drinker:

You do a bit of Oly lifting don't you? Well if you do then you defo want to work on getting the bar a little higher for a proper high bar squat it will help with the Oly lifting where a low bar doesn't really add anything.

Get your elbows under the bar :happy:

You might want to try foot placement a little wider to get a bit more depth, also focus on knees out during the lift

These are just little improvements, the squat was fine if you were in a PL comp :bigsmile:

Thanks!

This is pretty much what I'd observed myself, but it's good to have confirmation haha. Although I've found getting my feet any wider puts too much torque on my knee and that's still a bit iffy/not fully healed (I tried doing low bar squats with a bit wider stance during my deload and my knee got really angry at me WHILE doing the reps, so I think Im stuck with that width for now).

I'm pretty sure if I put the bar a lil higher up the elbows'll track better. I don't have any wrist issues and my back is still engaged though so I'm not too stressed about that one. I like that spot though. It's comfy. (I think I got used to that "mid-bar" placement after going for a heavy double a few months back and bruising that bump on the back of my neck pretty badly.)

Yeah I know about the bruises, I switched to high bar a few months ago and the bruising has finally stopped. My lack of rear delts was causing bruising on my shoulders but I'm slowly fixing that :bigsmile:

Right... posting another video of my squats after a few weeks doing SL. Not proud of them but I can tell you I could not even get that lower before so I think I'm getting there with the depth. You can ignore completely the first rep (hello depth?) and I know they are pretty crap anyway, considering the low weight (which still feels heavy for me, hence the struggles in the last rep) but maybe you could give me some tips to see if I could actually get the hint of it EVER or if I should just stop thinking about squatting all together (ha ha, just joking!):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MU9t-j1LKOA&feature=youtu.be

Also, are you tightening up your core before descending? Take a deep breath and hold it tight, you should feel yourself contracted all around your abs and lower back, form a solid base before taking it down.

I just finished my third week and I've been repeating squats almost every week to try and get form nailed down (due to knee issues, I want to be as careful as possible). I found that beginning with a step stool under me helped me to learn the "feel" of a proper squat, and to play around with different stances until I found the one most comfortable for my knees. That really helped me out in the beginning, as well as the tip to "push your legs/knees outward" to keep my knees from coming in when standing.

This week, however, I finally realized that the stool was now holding me back, as when I tried to do squats without it, I found I wasn't going nearly as deep. Removing the stool at this stage seemed to forced me to hone in on some final adjustments and learn to tighten and balance properly without relying on the safety the stool provided, and my squats felt much improved today.

I've also found that doing a set of 5 bodyweight squats in between each set helps me remember my most comfortable form. Stretching in between each set has done wonders for hitting the following sets as well. Now in between each set I sit down, touch my toes, do a few planks, sit-ups, leg, back and shoulder stretches and the next set then feels like a fresh start.

Wow, thanks a lot for all the feedback!! I have to say that I was doing them with a small box I made with a few of those steps you use to buid a "plastic bench" (if I'm explaining myself at all...). That definitely helped me to go lower and doing the sitting back (I think for some reason I might be scared of sitting back "in the air" in case I fall back with the bar or whatever, I don't now) but I have changed gym and could not find anything similar but I'll ask because I'm definitely not going as down without.

I usually do some warm up without bar, only with the bar and adding a bit of weight and while I can go a bit deeper I can't still do ATG at all, I've always had flexibility problems but I'm working on it really hard and determined to get it, eventually. I know that it seems I'm not doing anything but a month ago I couldn't even go that "low" so I hope that with practise, I can get it.

Definitely doing the "breath in" tight core before but only before starting the set, should I be doing it between reps as well?

Well... at least "there is hope", I suppose...

Thanks everyone, you're a great lot and I feel very inspired by you and your knowledge!

Definitely doing the "breath in" tight core before but only before starting the set, should I be doing it between reps as well?

it took me a while to learn the breathing thing too, but yeah - it really helps if you do that with every rep and once you get the hang of it it starts to come automatically because it's actually more comfortable to do the whole thing that way. a trainer i was talking to on the weekend suggested: pretend you're standing in water right up to your chin. deep breath, hold, and go under. then if you have to you can blow it out while you're on your way back up.

neat suggestion to get the idea across.

Very good suggestion indeed, trying this next time!!

Hi everyone! I have been doing stronglifts for 2 weeks now and I'd really love some feedback and critique on my squat form. Am I leaning forward too much? Don't mind the baby weights, I'm fairly new to lifting weights!

I did low bar squats @65lb
http://youtu.be/lZWIZljBnyE

Wow. Angel and Bruerin you both have some pretty solid form. You both drop fairly fast which is completely fine. You just want to make sure that you're not losing tightness when you do so, but only you would be able to determine that.

Angel you might want to place the bar higher as the weights get heavier. You pretty much have textbook high bar squat, but with low bar placement. Or you might just naturally move to a low bar posture as the weights get heavier and you are unable to keep the bar in place otherwise. I quite like your coordinated gym outfit.

Bruerin- and this is super nitpicky. It looks like your heels come up the tiniest bit and maybe roll to the outside. Again it's such a minor movement it's hard to discern. Just make sure you're focusing on keeping weigh in the heels. I can't tell from the angle of the video if your knees are caving at all, but it's always good advice to make sure you're pushing them out. I think we might have the same chucks. Mine are tiny white and black checks.

Wow. Angel and Bruerin you both have some pretty solid form. You both drop fairly fast which is completely fine. You just want to make sure that you're not losing tightness when you do so, but only you would be able to determine that.

Angel you might want to place the bar higher as the weights get heavier. You pretty much have textbook high bar squat, but with low bar placement. Or you might just naturally move to a low bar posture as the weights get heavier and you are unable to keep the bar in place otherwise. I quite like your coordinated gym outfit.

Bruerin- and this is super nitpicky. It looks like your heels come up the tiniest bit and maybe roll to the outside. Again it's such a minor movement it's hard to discern. Just make sure you're focusing on keeping weigh in the heels. I can't tell from the angle of the video if your knees are caving at all, but it's always good advice to make sure you're pushing them out. I think we might have the same chucks. Mine are tiny white and black checks.

Thanks for taking the time to review and respond. I will work on a slower descent. I see what you mean about my heels. I've been working on correcting that since I began SLs. It has gotten better since I switched to converse, but as the weight gets heavier, that little heel lift could lead to a big crash or ankle injury. I think next time I will try barefoot and really concentrate on feeling the floor in my heels the entire time. I don't think my knees cave in, but I will also focus on keeping them pushing out.

Whenever I lift with my husband, he will have me correct some things. But for the most part, he says "looks good" when I ask for feedback. I tend to exasperate him with my constant questions. I appreciate being able to post videos here, because I think women in General have a better eye for detail.